Tag Archives: Avalanche Software

December 7, 2025 · 10:28

The idea and a half

That is the setting, it started yesterday. To relax me I decided to listen to some Hogwarts ambiance music and I stumbled upon the 4 common rooms under Christmas and as I was relaxing, I suddenly noticed a few things. The shadows, some other details and my mind went racing and as such I created a ‘new’ IP, or better I reengineered one. Ih this story I was arriving at Hogwarts as a replacement student, I was replacing Abraham Ronen for a year as he was attending family business. It was quite the rush seeing Hogwarts after so long and I was giddy as a first year student. As I was attending late, I tried the old ways from my youth and would you believe it, that method still worked. I set the frog in a tree and cast the spell making it a one time only and only for me setting and I arrived in a dusty old room, where the brother of my frog was left untouched for years. There was another frog there and it would place me at the bottom of the curved stairs. I quickly charmed the room and cleaned it up. I saw the dust all over from the years of neglect and I summoned a house elf, which weirdly enough wasn’t answering, so I called my personal house elf and asked him to clean up this room. He nodded in acceptance and a minute later he was busy cleaning and scrubbing the room. I thought for a moment and summoned a second house elf from my house in Irondale, the house elf apparated and soon they were both cleaning the room. I asked the second elf to focus on the cozy chair and the walls. I then walked into the frog and appeared at the bottom of the curved stairs. I was hit with two settings, the first one was that it looked still like I remembered it nearly 15 years ago. The second thought that it was massively empty, there wasn’t a sound other then some hoofs in the distance. I walked to towards the great hall and as I got closer, there was still no sound. Over a hundred students tend to make noise, so it felt wrong, also the rooms were absent of candles and lights making it an eerie setting. I walked through the large doors to see…. Nothing. This was odd, I looked at my watch, I then looked at the room and there wasn’t a sound. I called for a house elf. It didn’t appear. I was slightly confused, no professors, no students and there was the sound of hoofs outside. Not even the ghosts were here. I took my wand a voiced the disillusionment spell. I vanished into a shimmer I then whispered the lighting spell for the lights and it obeyed, but there was nothing. I then saw a portrait looking at me and I made myself visible again. I introduced myself to the portrait of Minerva McGonagall. “Good evening, I am the replacement charms professor. My name is Severus Seafarer, I am standing in for Abraham Ronen. What is going on here?” The response was not what I thought “There was a panic and all the professors and student disappeared. I do not know where, but there was something dangerous in the air and now you have been exposed too” I understood the setting and she continued “There are the ghosts in the castle who have been given tasks to keep Hogwarts safe, sook them out. Also the animals around Hogwarts have been exposed and they are now rabid and dangerous. The most dangerous creatures are I think the Centaurs, but they are not alone and they stick together” I thought for a second and I took my leave of her. I rushed to the potions lab and got all the ingredients I could find and made several potions for health, like Wiggenweld as well as some anti toxin potions. I went through the professors cupboard and took what I thought was useful as well as some sleeping draughts, I thought that might be the way to go. I then took a different route, I was originally a Hufflepuff student and as my entry word was a professors code, it would let me in. If the ghosts were the answer, the house ghost of Hufflepuff would be a first. I entered the Hufflepuff common room and ignited the fire as well as the lights. In less then a minute the Hufflepuff was as warm and cozy as I remembered it to be. I called the Fat Friar, as he was my first port of call. He appeared but he was shaken, I don’t remember him ever to be nervous. I bowed and he recognised me. “Severus?” he said. I bowed and said “Yes, I am here as a professor now, what is going on? Minerva explained some of it, but not all. What is going on?” The fat friar explained that it was something to do with the muggle world. We were hit in more profound ways, especially the magical creatures. The students and the professors weren’t hit, but they took no chances as the magical creatures were more and more rabid” The professors decided on the painting portals. Each house has an emergency painting and they went there with house elf. We patrolled the corridors but the Centaurs got too aggressive, so we went into hiding. And that is how it has been for roughly a week.

This is the setting my mind conceived. The setting behind this is Covid-19 and the effect it had on magical creatures, because Covid was made by the asians to counter an invasion of Jiangshi and Oni oil their land, but it had an effect on muggles as well and that is the setting the professor Severus Seafarer faces. The game has 4 distinct environments til settings. Ravenclaw is struck with aerial traps and has invading birds. It is also a stage where you are confronted with Helena Ravenclaw (the Grey lady) and there you get to seek the herbal cures for most of the species. In addition that house will cure the air of Hogwarts, as such no one will get sick after that in Hogwarts and the air will start curing those effected including you. This will be seen that the two house elf will suddenly feel a lot better and will be a controlling force for setting up the Hogwarts defenses against the centaurs where you will have a lethal and a non-lethal setting, the non-lethal setting takes a lot longer, but the reward is a lot stronger. Slytherin is under water, the windows are broken and you need to get to repair the house and drain the water (in stages) as the window defenses are restored. The bloody baron has more on the water defenses and the old spell to set up the widow barriers are the first stage in restoring parts of Hogwarts and the Greenhouses (they are in the lower parts of Hogwarts and also under water) then we get to Gryffindor and nearly headless nick who has the final part of the painting spell and as all the parts are now above water, you can now access the paintings, they are linked and you get the other parts of the lore of the disease setting. Gryffindor has the stage where access to the headmaster tower becomes available and there we learn the last parts of the lore. 

So as we get to clear the common rooms, we also get the settings to clear the disease from Hogwarts. There is more, but for now that is ll there is. As I see it, this IP is readily available for Avalanche Software (as they own the IP of Hogwarts legacy) and as it stands as Hogwarts was completely designed in the first game (by them), it could become a larger DLC for the time being as HL2 is still in design. I have no idea how it fares with Warner Brothers and Netflix, but giving this idea to Avalanche Software might be the better option. So John Blackburn, you have an idea and feel free to use it and keep the scores (read: millions) of Harry Potter fans happy. It (the IP) is yours now.

Have a great day and consider the I wrote this on a Sunday morning, so you owe me a coffee (Jumbo cappuccino with two sugar and full cream milk) as I see it 😛

Have a great day you all, it was great thinking up another game, because that shows how some ore waiting all their settings on a non existing Ai whilst I (coffee deprived) think of new IP with my feeble little brain.

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August 26, 2025 · 03:57

A present for some

Yup, there you have it. This is a present and particularly for Avalanche software, the makers of Hogwarts Legacy. I’ve been mulling a few things over and I reckon that at times we have to give back to the people who kept us entertained. As such I am giving this idea to Avalanche and they can use it, ignore it. Whatever they want. It also assumes that Hogwarts legacy 2 is as open as its predecessor was. 

First
In the first you need to be able to own houses. These houses can be decorated and they all have a ‘secret’ setting, but in addition to this The game will have its collection of castles, derelict places and others. These are the foundation of my focus. As it goes each of these places have the ability to have a secret level (rooms is more apt). And these houses need specific updates and some of them need to be found.

Portal elements. In the game you will be able to find unique portal items, as well as stress lanterns, and interior spells (an advanced version of Reparo) These houses will then be ‘decorated’ in the style of your graduation house, As such if you play the game 4 times, that place will look similar but different. As the game progresses you will find more unique spells and items (these will have a different icon, item card) the stress lamps are placed around the house or in the house and will give muggles the creeps when they get near one (but they do not know why). Portal items are specific for a type of dwelling and will show this, these portal keys are specific and limited to one location (your secret level) and these levels are consistent to the area they are set and the rooms are not unlike the Room of requirements, but they have limits. You now have places for wardrobes, spell crafts, potion crafts and so on. 

Second
I mentioned before jobs (in a previous blog) I set the ideal gave to a maximum job and two minimum jobs. So the 4 houses have a maximum job and 2 minimum jobs. As such we get 12 jobs. I wanted to add a segment to this, but I don’t want to steamroll everything. For Slytherin the idea of having a potioneer. As a Potioneer you get benefits, like an additional potion for every potion you make and you need one less ingredient for any potion made. For Auror you get more resources for every enemy you slain (like 7 troll bogeys instead of 5) As we get to the setting of minister, or civil servant, you get additional goodwill when you are walking around. 

Third
As you have graduated, you no longer need a field guide, but the idea can be transferred to the next game, it will have a different name, lore pages as you get the lore of specific things you find. This might also give you additional talents and spells. It might be nice that some of these are house related, like the original lore page writer gives the house wizard an additional page, a ‘golden’ page and that is house dependent and will give the person a skill, a spell or a conjurations linked to the thing you are revealing.

These settings are to instill the replay-ability of the game and the need for people to keep on exploring. As I wrote before in the jobs story, this will give you an income and that matters as you progress in the game, more money means more options (just like real life) and here we see that the smaller jobs are easier to get, but pay less, as such you can create the skills you need to get the ‘big’ job. The job will also give ‘renown’ as well as privileges. These privileges are limited to some degree, but they can make life easier in certain settings. For example a minister gets discounts, a auror gets stronger outfits. It can be applied to the same cloak. It gives an auror 20% better defense and that same cloak is 20% cheaper but does not have the 20% better defense.

You can still find and upgrade stuff, but the stronger clothes must be bought and they aren’t cheap. The aforementioned cloak could be found (acquired in a fight) with a defense of 60, that same cloak could be bought with a defense of 96. There is the idea that a loom could be conjured (or found), but the animal furs need to be bought from a pet shop. 

As I learn more about the second game I might get more ideas, but Avalanche here is your boon. You payed for it by entertaining me with an excellent first game.
Have a nice day all and the people at Avalanche happy programming. 

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August 23, 2025 · 11:28

Monster of creativity wakes up

Yup, that ghastly monster called creativity is rearing its ugly head again and it is merely 10:20 in the morning. On a Saturday no less. So I already have the drop on DARPA in at least three military inventions and one of them is a stealth system. But after I had a novel idea on taking Russian airfields, I now have another thought. What if we change the collective to another field? What if we push the Russian forces to deploy differently? Consider that Russia has around 61 airfields and we push them to ‘overpopulate’ 61 of them. They would require to seed around 31000 soldiers who are set to try to keep them safe. And it is safe to say that they will fail. That will jump the stress levels in the Kremlin by a lot. So as I thought this through I have to say that I am pretty proud of myself. As I see it I was leading DARPA 6-0 in this endeavor and now I am adding at least three field goals to this setting. I would need to confer with the Ukrainian consul general on this setting. And make it known that the Commonwealthian people support them. I might be too old to go into the field, but my brain works quite well. And I tend to like to show some people that they missed the target on me by a lot. And in the setting that I could optionally show these Russian courtesans that there are people who use their thinking caps to support the Ukrainian people (and I have a really good friend who will appreciate that too).

So off I am, trying to make Russian lives a little harder as President Trump is doing little to nothing in that field. Oh, he might act in 10 days (which is a deadline he gave three times over) so as such I am leading there too. So with the naval stealth system and now with ‘optional’ drone collaboration, we have a new premise. The Russian army will have to support the hind sites by a lot more than they have space for, isn’t that the nexus of non-violence? A teaching moment on how you can promote nonviolence by blowing up violent machines. It’s a brand new day. Anyway. I came to it via another IP and that is a lovely setting. The pass through method in creating abilities. 

In other news, I also gained the insight that might help dwindling down the number of Helicopters they have. According to news sources, they only downed 340 of these suckers. So I came up with a few methods to add to that dastardly low number. Same invention with a slightly different approach to doing the deed. 

Well that is my support to the next setting and I reckon it is time to give gaming a new vibe as I was continue to play Hogwarts Legacy to get 1 of them (in this case a Slytherin) person to 100% on everything I had a few thoughts that could be used in the sequel to this game. So in stead of having one battle achievement, have at least two. One stealth option one general option. I like to sneak up to my adversary and blow him away (or petrify the opponent) and in that case my last battle outfit becomes available. There were a few other things that bugged me, but as it is not a bug or a glitch, it is a little in the open. What does matter is that  the game should be 100% perfect. Now this is a large call and I am not faulting the makers of Hogwarts Legacy of anything, as far as I see it this program is near perfect and I have been playing it off and on since its release in 2023, so I have had two full years of joy. As I see it Avalanche Software should be proud of its achievement. Whilst I truly believe this, I also think that games can always be better, but this is often found whilst playing the game. And that is where people like me come in. The developer tends to be too close to the source and it requires a little distance to upgrade something good. I already mentioned 4-6 upgrades to this game making it a next game issue. And I have more to offer at present. I added jobs to the setting, careers that differ per house and after that I considered and planned the upgrade of any location to a new living space and you cannot convert them all, but you can create a living space for any character you create and a setting for any house to have a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin theme. And they all have settings. And as you optionally create 4 houses in the total of regions that you open up where each location has a Clevian portal to access the houses. Like the mirror in Hogwarts Legacy. A mirror space that creates a space to the other house. In that instance you have a setting to leap into other places. But this doesn’t happen automatic, the ancient magic required is massive (like three bars per creation) it stops doing that from level 1 and it allows the game to evolve the player as needed. Then there is the idea that some of the achievements done in the first game (like stargazing) now open up secondary missions. As such you need to interact with the NPC’s in more ways then one. As such there are more influences coming. What was done in HL1 was great, but now it is time to hand the game more leniency in distinguishing. As such the dark spells could also be a hindrance to gain access to alternative settings (unless other professions are chosen). It makes the game a lot more of a moral compass and it sets the wannabe wizards apart from the real ones ;-P

This makes me think of another setting. I met a man in the Epic Universe, some dodgy dude names ‘Jackal’ and he looked nothing like a jackal. He called himself E. Redmayne esq. He was wearing the most amazing cosplay lookalike of the man, the legend, Newt Scamander. You might think this is a ruse, but it is not, it is a hint, The same could be said for some youthful young sprout named Meg March. So take this setting and set it across the nightmares these Hogwarts candidates face when going into the thoughts of some creatures they face. As any Wizard (Witches too) have dark sides, we get a new setting. One that could optionally give us mini games. I am hesitant to set that setting, because not all mini games are good, but it is an option to consider. In that same setting I created a ‘magical’ version of Ice Hockey and that too had a few sidelines to consider (I wrote about it earlier). Now consider that we have another option beside quidditch as a sport to consider. Taking all this to the stage does not mean I created a better Hogwarts Legacy, it is just a few ideas for these developers to use and there is no charge, whatever I wrote to the game is now owned by Avalanche software and JK Rowling. I just did away with the hassle of greed that some see when they face these thoughts. I just handed it over to the makers of the connected IP. Im the kind of guy. I have enough IP to cross over a dozen times. 

So monster of creativity, get back to bed and consider using this to emphasize gaming IP, or IT IP, not merely weapons based IP. It gives me the creepy crawlers.

Have a great Saturday.

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June 11, 2025 · 09:44

The dangers of a wannabe

Yes, that is the setting. I got rather annoyed by some guy named mr. Dom Riley. He writes (at https://winteriscoming.net/hbo-s-harry-potter-reboot-shows-the-limited-potential-of-the-franchise) the simple title ‘HBO’s Harry Potter reboot shows the limited potential of the franchise’, it is one of the most flawed settings. Not as bit as the stupid girl, who gave Hogwarts Legacy a 1/10 rating, but it is getting close. With the quote “HBO’s decision to remake Harry Potter rather than take the franchise in a new, original direction shows the limitations inherent to the Wizarding World.” It is not that simple, the larger setting that HBO is limited by greed is another thing. Why take chances on what could be (like Ubisoft milking the Assassins Creed franchise with Black Flag) we are given more of the same in a new jacket with cheaper actors (who reveal at the chance to be immortalised by the Wizarding World setting). This is nothing against these actors, if I were a mere 10 years old, I would jump at that chance. The setting is that it is not on the Wizarding World, it is on HBO. There is (of course) a setting that each seasons is a year and as such we are likely to get a lot more, but what if that is below par? I am not telling you, I am merely asking you. You see, the movies are great. The art of the movies were great and the setting is one that almost defies logic and it makes the entire setting re-watchable. Likely as JK intended it to be. It is my believe that she intended to create books that grew as the child grew, so it is a series that entices from 10-18 all in one go. 

So when I see “The Harry Potter book series is less than 30 years old, so it’s not exactly ancient. It’s been almost 25 years since the first movie, and just 14 since the movie series was brought to an end with Deathly Hallows Part 2, so it seems a little early for what is essentially a remake (or re-adaptation), especially as it comes from the same studio. Why not do something different? Is it possible that there’s only so much potential in the franchise?” My first question for Mr. Riley would be “When did you last have your sanity checked?” At what point did you ask what HBO was thinking? At what point did you wonder where the IP of JK was allowed to be? She wrote the books, HBO and others are merely fleecing their greed of a well set IP franchise. The only real original IP comes from Avalanche Software called Hogwarts Legacy and was published by Portkey games. It is an astounding game that has drive, originality (I wrote about it a few times) and an amazing story, so much so that I had to replay it 3 times to cover all the four houses. The game is that good. In addition, I wrote ‘It starts with options’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/11/27/it-starts-with-options/) offering an additional setting to Hogwarts Legacy 2 and giving the player an additional ‘stage’ for the game. Don’t try to buy it as it is at present the property of JK Rowling.

I am just saying that there were additional settings that HBO could employ, but as far as Mr. Riley tells us, they didn’t do that and he is merely (most likely stupid) and flawed as I created original new IP as did Avalanche software. As such winter might be coming, but it should be seen in the brain of the writer, not in the IP that surrounds the Wizarding World as that is up to scratch and amazing in many ways. 

I don’t go about slamming people, as they are entitled to their views, but this was one straw to many (camel is broken) and that is merely the start of it as I wrote at least one more article preceding that (which is also owned by JK Rowling) and it took me less than 4 hours to write both articles. (I reckon less than three, but that would be too close to the mark), so in 4 hours I dug a hole for HBO and Dom Riley to hide the caskets of their non-originality. 

In part I wrote it to remain creative (and I did) and should JK hand over that IP to Avalanche to add to the thrill of Hogwarts Legacy 2, it would be up to her.

And here I get the next setting where keeping a blog gives the reader the evidence that others ‘hide’ behind ‘I told you so, don’t you remember?’ The blog has a nice temporal setting and I have ben adding to that since 2011. There is no need to go on for 14 years of reminding people, it is set to the internet. And as such I feel that the larger setting is that if it isn’t written down it doesn’t exist. 

Have a great day

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March 28, 2025 · 16:59

The mostly ignored stage

This hit me yesterday in between all kind of other stuff I was brooding about. It was set off by thinking of something else. As I was replaying Hogwarts Legacy, was thinking about the collectors edition that was released on day one and at $599 that was not. Leap I was ready to make. That set another track n the rails. You see, most places are lacking Power-points and some have solutions for that, but the larger issue is ignored. You see when you put a few things together, you start wondering a few things. With night stand lamps, office lamps and all kind of lamps in every room, there is a clear setting to have these places ‘illuminated’ with USB-C ports, for all kind of reasons. Charging mobiles and other mobile devices. Collect gimmicks and as such the average gamer needs about 10 points of contact. The office person has their own need and a few more. But color me happy, the big boys (in this case IKEA) never seem to have acted on this. I saw one part on TEMU, so why is that largely overlooked?

Screenshot

Now, this TEMU contraption needs a power source and as it is a bluetooth speaker, an alarm clock, a nightstand, a charger for mobile, earbuds and watch this makes sense. But most people (like me) merely have a mobile and optionally a watch to charge. As such adding a USB-C to most lamps will solve the issue without people have to find connection points for charge ports. And as most will suffice with a 15 watt solution, most rooms will have the stage solved for iPad, Watch, Mobile, and optimally enough space for the a mobile wifi hotspot. And in an instance the required need for 5-8 charge points are reduced to a mere 1-2 spaces. Most solutions are done with in an instant when we add a USB-C port to most lamps. So why was this never done? Some will say it was the price. But if TEMU can offer a 5 charging station with bluetooth speakers and alarm clock for a mere $15, I reckon that the pricing isn’t it (or at least not anymore). 

Was it the required brainpower that was needed? Well it seems that these captain of industry (as they call themselves) are in dire need of an overhaul to say the least. 

So where did they leave their innovation? With their marketing department, whist the marketeers needed time to think over the term innovation. So far this decade I have only seen one innovative marketeer and that person is the Canadian Ryan Reynolds (probably he got assistance from that youthful young sprout Blake Lively in that regard), beyond that there was the Heineken marketing teams in the 80’s and 90’s. The rest are mostly iterative players on ideas already phrased in some ways. So where are the boffins? The fact that I have at least three goals over DARPA makes one think whether true innovation has left the field and its stadium of operation. And that was merely the upper soil tossed, there is a lot more under the rubble and where are those innovators? They seemingly left Apple almost a decade ago, Microsoft hasn’t given us innovation for decades and mostly that is regurgitated from ideas from way passed. We see that when we see Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 with the initial release date on November 19th 2024. There is no mention of the Flight Simulator 2020, which gives us “It is an entry in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series which began in 1982, and was preceded by Microsoft Flight Simulator X in 2006.” I remember that as I had the CBM64 edition (which set me back $299, and in 1985 that was serious cash), never regretted that move. It was the first time that I saw true innovation in the face of lacking resources and make no mistake, getting any flight simulator running on 64KB is an achievement. So when I saw the 2020 edition (I had the X version in 2010) blew me away, so seeing the 2024 version with an initial release data of that year kinda makes my blood boil (a little). To disregard innovators to that degree is not cool and it shows that big tech and their marketeers need to review what they think innovation is. 

And that takes me back to the present. As we see more and more items requiring a USB-C point, the idea of having this option inserted in laps (as such) gives us a much larger station for consideration. And the Collectors Edition is still desirable even after having played it several times over the last 25 months. So what will we do when another collectors edition requires a charge point and that is before we consider what other house smart ideas will grace our presence. Smart buttons, smart lights, smart speakers and all needing a USB-C point. So why didn’t IKEA (as merely one place) consider this option 1-2 years ago?That’s it for now, my Friday is almost gone, in Vancouver (the most eastern point of intelligence in the time line it starts in a little over an hour). Have a great day.

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March 26, 2025 · 00:43

In dubio

That is where I am at the moment, I am in a state of ‘when in doubt’. To give you the full picture I have to go back to (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/11/27/it-starts-with-options/) when on November 27th 2022 I wrote ‘It starts with options’ at that point I wrote in a single setting an addendum to the entire Harry Potter stage and I added the stage to add jobs to Hogwarts Legacy. In this case I created the wand-maker setting for the game, or better Hogwarts Legacy 2, to evolve the game you need to add specialization to the game and I added jobs. To add replay ability to a game I am in favor to set this to a wider session, as such I considered that a job is only available to three houses, and in one house it gives you a bonus throughout the game. You learn that lore in the first stage of the game, through books and notes I reckon. So that was the first setting I set out, yet today as I play the fourth time the game (last week) and I just watched (yet again) Harry Potter and the Half Blood prince. A thought occurred to me and I almost got to write is down.

So what’s keeping me?
Well, that is harder to explain. The initial writings was set to the game, there was no IP violation made and as I offered the text for free to Avalanche software (the people behind Hogwarts Legacy), I feel good about it. Add value to an IP I adore and handing it over to the makers seems like a good idea. Now it is different. I thought of an extension to either Hogwarts Legacy (as a DLC) or part of Hogwarts Legacy 2. This is still ok with me, however I might like it better if Avalanche Software would hand me (a copy) of the letter from JK Rowling of showing her blessing for the addition. I consider the wizarding world stuff the ownership of JK Rowling.

The addition I had in mind are the setting where the creation of creatures comes under fire. Side missions that teach you more about the creation of the Inferi (in this case) on who created it and how it is down. Then unravel the curse lessening the power of this and diminish the inferi in the game. There are two settings. One making the amount of inferi less, the second is making the level of inferi less and set the lower powered inferi to zero. I am not clear on how to proceed, then there are a few creatures that can have a similar setting, but I tend to be the believer in balancing a game, so as the inferi are lessened, another creature gets more powerful (or more of them). For example you reduce the inferi, the spiders can become more powerful. These are mere simple considerations I am making in the progress of creating lore for a game. 

And to that effect, also create a house setting. As I see it, that mission is different for a Slytherin as the game gives a dark wizard a more powerful option and if we consider the game. All houses can do it and I will remain possible, but the owner of dark spells get a more powerful outcome and members of the house of Slytherin gets a bonus option. It is still a simple thought which I haven’t ironed out yet in my brain, but that is the setting my brain is thinking off (at present).

Having house dependent side missions might be a good way to set the bar in the next game. Another setting is that this could be done in more ways. So let’s keep it to the Inferi mission. In that mission, you any house can get the mission if they clean out an inferi layer, but a book in house Slytherin gets them a prequel mission, that becomes a more powerful stage to resolve it and get a bonus to the inferi layer mission, which in this case I call the Finite Inferi achievement. 

I always loved replay ability for any RPG game, but as I saw in the Bethesda games, doing the same thing over and over again tends to become boring and for the most part Hogwarts Legacy is no different. But the first mission involving Jackdaw was a revelation, four different ways to get there, the rest remains the same, but as we create more settings, we can enjoy the same game in different ways for much longer than we ever considered and jobs was one way, the houses are another way to give more options to the joy of gaming and as we gain that setting we could also opt for your own place to live with the option to modify your house your way and the setting is that you can only own one house and every house student (or former house student) can only own one house, they can buy a different house later on (more expensive), but the old house will be lost to you. I also thought of the mission where you could restore and own the house of Professor Rackham, it is where the game begins. This gave me the idea to incorporate the Wizarding world currency and push the use of Knuts, Sickles and Galleons. Yet the galleons are the ‘big incomes’ and that is required to get enough to own the bigger houses and at some point when you have enough it will open up a special venture. These are mere thoughts, but it is a direction that Avalanche can go for. So now wonder what is keeping some big game makers to become innovative in their strides, but that might merely be me.

Have a great day, I am almost at the midweek. I got there 43 minutes ago. Vancouver has to wait (or work) for another 15 hours to get there too. 

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March 11, 2025 · 11:41

What the mind remains digesting

That happens to us all, especially the dreamers and the creators. As such yesterday’s blog is still on my mind. It reflects on Ubisoft as I see negative articles appear on a game that is not released yet (AC Shadows). It is said to be a whopping 125 GB, which is rather large as Skyrim and Fallout 4 don’t go that far. There are several reasons where this could be the case, but I digress. You see at present I have no intention of buying the game pre week 3. At that point the real reviews will have been out for some days. Let’s be clear AC Mirage was a wonderful game and for the most a real AC game. I loved it. It was a pleasant surprise from the disappointment AC Odyssey gave me. Ubisoft just didn’t listen “A game that is mean to appease everyone will please no one”, a rule I find to be the cornerstone of gaming. You see the Business Intelligence dude (or dudette) thinks different. In their terms they think that AC is 50%, add a little Prince of Persia you get an additional 10%, add another part from another successful game and another 10% is added and so on until they get to 100%. But the reality is that the stealth, the true AC part is diminished. Almost like adding water to the wine and at some point you can never tell the real taste of water or the real taste of wine. That is my firm believe. Let’s be clear to add sides that complement a game to a next version can make the game better, but it needs to be a unique setting that complements the original. That is what I intent to write and add to Hogwarts Legacy. So in that Trent what if we add to the beast setting, not copy (perhaps in part), but add to the story. As such I saw two parts. What if the next version adds jobs to the game. (3-5) per house. And they do overlap, A house has (lets say) 5 jobs. Two unique and three sets one in another house. That applies to all houses and you get each house with 2 unique jobs and one job shared to any of the three houses. That creates the achievement “A true Hufflepuff”, or the other three houses. 4 achievements right there. 4 play throughs, and in my example (in the connected story) one job is a wand-maker, A student of Olivander. Now the wand needs a core. We have unicorn hair, phoenix hair or dragon heartstring. What if there was a fourth one? The 4th one, requiring a Graphorn horn. There might be more, but that is a mere instance of what I thought. As a student you’ll learn how to make a wand (leading to the achievement “Wand artisan” and the obvious second one Wand-maker master (when you make a successful wand) with a graphorn horn. It isn’t that simple. You see, now all beasts create the right part, we could see a mere 1% successful Unicorn hair. With proper attendance by food, brushing the 100% success rate goes up (2%) and as you create a better understanding of animals and who they are combines with the success rate another 100% (4%). When you are not using that hair (so we get golden unicorn hair) they can be sold for the usual 120 knots (or sickles) we get something worth galleons. Galleons can only be exchanges at Gringotts or a comparable bank, the Galleons also represent a second part (I get to that) because all jobs have that distinction. Some at a smaller pace. I just created an economic state all in one go. This is what I believe that is what some developers miss (no assault on Avalanche Software). And the setting intensifies as we get specific jobs. No matter what you chose you will have a different goal. As we get to chose from the ministry jobs, the locations (France and Germany come to mind), you could become an Auror you could get specific options, and as such can increase your ‘fortune’, I see the aurora as a specific Gryffindor and Ravencroft job. 4 play throughs with very unique settings. It makes a person want to replay the game. I thought the very first location, the castle of Percival Rackham. The idea that it is a goal to restore that Castle, which required to set in place charms so that the people avoid it as well as a few other settings, the appearance of the ruin that all see and when you get close to the house, the ‘real’ house. Another idea was to add the French and German locations due to the Newt Scamander documentaries (me laughing on the inside) gets us two more settings, so in that case Avalanche gives us the near perfect setting. That haunted village could be part of the next story. Perhaps the third act is around Durmstrang. And if the French episode connects to Beauxbatons, than Durmstrang (believed to be in Sweden) gives us the fourth act in Stockholm (or Oslo). Four acts all carrying part of the story, all giving us parts in Exploration, Battle (example: Ice giants) and Beasts. It could add to the lore to a larger degree as these elements are added. The four acts will get us to the fifth act (the deserted village) and that can get us a few more versions. Some will want to believe one version, or another version, but in the end we are all given all the facts as portrayed through acts one through four. The idea to have additions of stealth like an animals or a plant has merit here. As I see it, the truth is always according to the truth of one, the other or insight of self. Although the spells are all there, we can get a few more spells from each of the other three houses. 

I got this in a little over a day, so it seems fair that tinkering is required. On the offset that my view of the 25 months is given, the new version allows for a lot more than 25 months of joy. And if someone wants to embrace the 11 unique jobs that the game gives it will be a lot more than 25 months. If the first idea (the portal) allows for the 2 games to be united, the stage of a near everlasting wizarding world epic tale will be the achievement of a lifetime, to be more precise Avalanches lifetime. According to Statista 44% is an avid fan and 53% is a casual fan, as such 30 million copies will not come close to the amount of optional copies sold for the next game. There is every chance that this game has the ability to break nearly all records. I reckon that there is little chance to break the records of Pokemon and that is not a bad thing. To break the stage of 50-100 million copies is close to amazing to say the least. Then there is the lore that needs to be created. A stage not easily done to say the least. 

Look at me go, a mere day (perhaps 2-3 days to seed the idea on November 27th 2022) and we have ourselves a chase. The others (for example Ubisoft and Bethesda) to get ahead where they never got and Avalanche to let them see their tailpipe as they sloughed ahead in gaming. And Warner Brothers to sit in the stands enjoying the race where the others come short by a lot.

Not a bad day for me, I got to hand over creative exclusivity to Avalanche Software and the rest (like Microsoft) seeing again and again what they missed in the first place. Have fun you all.

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March 10, 2025 · 10:35

After 25 months

There was a need to address the losers at Wired (especially Jaina Grey) who ‘hid’ behind “The game is mid at best, and its real-world harms are impossible to ignore.” I got the game at day one and let week I decided to play it for the fourth time. This time it was up to create a Gryffindor character. I call him Peter Manticore. Of course most of the cut scenes remain the same and again I see that after 25 months the game never waned its magic. The game kept its addictiveness, If anything, it respawned the magic of the wizarding world. This time around my nice reward was the fourth time that I got towards the Jackdaw character and four times I got a adjusted character story. In this case headless nick came to the aid of the main character. As such I got the challenge in a missing heirloom of Olivander (Ravenclaw), a visit to Azkaban prison (Hufflepuff), the graveyard chase (Gryffindor) and Scrope’s assistance (Slytherin). A setting I always wanted in RPG games and Avalanche delivered. As Wired goes, the utter BS of a 10% rating is the folly of a lifetime. This game is ten times any game Ubisoft has delivered in the last 10 years, so there.

After 25 months there is the larger premise that this game still rocks. Yes, a lot of the puzzles are set and the conclusion is the same, so that is not against Avalanche, that is on us. You see, the premise that this game can entice any player is the setting of a lifetime. It is what real gamers love. And the setting of the surrounding Hogwarts is merely the icing on a delicious cake. I never had the limited edition (with the floating wand) and that doesn’t matter to me. I am a little miffed that the free download of a deserted village (PC only) but that is the price of a console. So, I hope that this part will be included in Hogwarts Legacy 2. Still there is a rather large desire (by a lot of people) that this will be placed in France, and I think it is due to the Ministry of Magic expansion in Universal Orlando (as well as the Newt Scamander movies, a true Hufflepuff he is). Whatever we get, the Harry Potter fans (that teenager from Gryffindor) will love it, no matter the setting they get. We are given from several sources that “Warner Bros. has confirmed that Hogwarts Legacy 2 is not only in development but is a top priority”, a statement for fans to live towards. I would speculate that there is a chance that WB is setting the stage not only for the game, but to see this added in the HP world in the opening in Abu Dhabi in 2026. As such the fans will get their Christmas present a little bigger than imagined, optionally with a bucket of cherries lined in that cake as well. But the last part is pure speculation from me.

The fact remains that the game sold over 30 million copies, at $69 per copy that makes a little over 2 billion. And after 25 months that number strikes true to the game makers. As such the wannabe triple A designers are frothing at the mouth to learn what they did wrong (Ubisoft), as such Avalanche software has the inside track to surpass everyone. Yes, the franchise is part of this and that is part of the charm. Millions of fans could suddenly walk through Hogwarts and watch the space as the movies never let them and that counts for something. 

As such my idea was to create a portal (thank you Universal), one that connect these two games. The older person gets to travel back to a younger self and complete the first game (if you only now have it), it would be a little extra stuffing to let Wired know that they had it wrong by 99.9% and consider that this never has been done before. Another reason to do just that. There is an additional idea, what if the first game sets the parameter for the second one? If you were a Hufflepuff student you would be alerted to Helen Thistlewood. As such the Hufflepuff student would get Helen Thistlewood as an ally. In other houses, she would become a dangerous adversary. It would only be fitting that the other houses would have a similar setting on another place with other characters. This too has never been done. 

There is nothing like the spark of inspiration to see what you are creatively be possible to enhance anything and this were my ideas and I happily offer them to Avalanche, free of charge (thank you Kenneth Branagh). It isn’t merely the spark. It is what that enables you to do. To that effect, I also wrote something on November 27th 2022, called ‘It starts with options’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/11/27/it-starts-with-options/) and that is something I can leave to Avalanche software (as well as JK Rowling) as well. The story is everything. This is particularly important to realize in RPG games. Creativity for enjoyment to the gaming community, a setting too much ignored be nearly all. I once stated to Ubisoft “A game that appeases everyone, is a game that pleases no one”, I still believe that to be true, especially in gaming. Ubisoft never heeded my words and on September 26th 2024 we were given “Ubisoft’s board of directors launches investigation into problems in the company” and I gave them my take 2 years earlier. As such I don’t expect a lot to be done. The fact that Avalanche showed them up with a game that blew whatever Ubisoft had to smithereens is enough ‘evidence’ as I see it. And my evidence? I still get a hooting fine time with a game I played three times before over the last 25 months. And it still gets to me. What is what I call a near perfect game and I rate the game 92%, a little higher than most and I accept that it is due to the fact that I am to some extent a HP fan. But the game this large and being this close to flawless takes a massive amount of love towards the game and the developers delivered on this. That is something that should be clear. 

Good games are becoming more and more a rarity. I believe it to be due to these game makers ‘relied’ on their Business Intelligence ‘assets’ and tried to appease their audience. Yet the truth is that true gamers are not privy or aligned with ‘influencers’ they like their quiet gaming world and they are for the most solo players. This game delivered and whilst others are so prone to appease gamers, they forget that their adversaries are creating sound chaos on everyone but them. The safest way is to ignore all of them and create the phonebook where the real fans are. (Not sure how to do that) but that is my take on the setting.

So whilst we wait for Hogwarts Legacy 2, I will enjoy my 4th play through of the first game. I reckon that this will keep me busy for another 50 gaming hours, especially as I know most of the challenges that are coming my way. That too is part of the RPG world, especially as we play the game more than once. 

Have a great day and try to enjoy a game, a book or a movie today.

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February 15, 2023 · 23:14

Evolving a game

That is the matter, it is part of any game if it was designed properly and I have to tell you that Hogwarts Legacy is a lot better than most reviewers see. There are a few good reviewers (except the one in Wired) and as I am not at 50% of the game at 30 hours of play with one character, I have to admit that this game has so much more than anyone realised. I do accept that like all RPG games there is a little too much fetch this, fetch that and go here, go there. But the way it is done, whilst giving you a choice of HOW you approach this game is brilliant. Avalanche software outdid themselves. But it is not about the now. My mind evolved this game into what is next. You see when you have a strong foundation and that is the golden bullet in any game. You see, we can consider what is next, some of the stories are just that good and even if it is not all about Hogwarts, you do get a larger setting to consider. 

To see this I need to take you to another game. A game masterminded by Richard Garriott. He created Sosaria and he mapped it, more important the map was basically the same in Ultima 3, Ultima 4, Ultima 5, Ultima 6 and Ultima 7. The graphics were upgraded and Ultima 7 was as perfect a game as any RPG every released. It is one of the few times I gave a game a review of 100%. 

But that never left my mind and it is time for Hogwarts to consider the next step. You see it will be soon when some want a DLC and that is fine, but what happens when they release the next version, something of bolster Hogwarts legacy? For example Hogwarts learnings? The map perhaps a little larger but with a part of France now added with the Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons? As the main character you become an Auror and how you get there is how you played the first game. With added places like London and Paris (these are always played at night), and a new story as an Auror. As this game is around 20 years AFTER Hogwarts Legacy and long before the Potters became a thing, or the events that started the Chamber of secrets. Different environments, different creatures and different challenges. If they can produce a capturing storyline they have a setting that could be big in 2024/2025. And the way the people embrace this game, it has every chance to do so again, especially if the second run is 4 times the size of this one. We forgot about evolution at times, it happens, because most of us see games as they used to be, a once off event. But games evolve and the gamer that embraces a franchise evolves too. And perhaps it is not France, but wherever Durmstrang is, or its American equivalent. There are a few options and perhaps Portkey games embraces these options, or perhaps they will not, but they have the option and they have it as they made heads turn. I am still a realist, so far I have found half a dozen glitches, only one annoying and I crashed once, but that is it and for a game of this size that is quite the achievement. Especially compared to a game playing in France filled with dozens upon dozens of bugs (not glitches) as such these makers did an amazing job. I cannot wait until I get more done in the game. I stopped because I remember the impact of non-stop gaming and I did 8 hours today. Tomorrow I can do more, so far this is the best investment in gaming I have made in at least two years and I do not regret buying the other games. But that is excellence for you. 

Have a great day and remember to embrace the games you really love, no matter what game it is.

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February 10, 2023 · 21:14

The anger within

I saw a headline on BBC (see below) I wondered what it was about and I got angry, this happens and it will happen to us all. 

The article (at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64572328) gives us a view. In this case on a person who might call himself a reporter, yet as I personally see him, a mere political hack without a future. To get there we need to look at a few parts. The first one is that we see the mention of Hogwarts Legacy, but the ENTIRE article does not mention Avalanche software once, not once and I have an issue with this. You see hacks mention one thing and then talk about something else entirely. That happens here. As I personally see it Hogwarts Legacy is a clear labour of love. It is what happens when the art people are in charge and not the business people.

We are then given “The Guardian’s games editor Keza MacDonald wasn’t as enthusiastic as some, writing: “Hogwarts Legacy derives its magic from its setting, not from its game design, which is competent but unspectacular.”” OK, a person has an opinion and whatever this is is an opinion, I do not agree. The game is close to spectacular, it is HUGE and Hogwarts is HUGE. The game design is amazing, not entirely unique but amazing. That is my view and to add that I have had one glitch since I started playing it over 20 hours ago is evidence on how good the game is in its architectural way. The one glitch is not really part of anything, but honesty needs me to point that out and I merely found one glitch. I also found something amazing (see down the story). The additional issue is shown with “Travis Northup, reviewing for IGN, wrote: “Its open-world adventure captures all the excitement and wonder of the Wizarding World with its memorable new characters, challenging and nuanced combat, and a wonderfully executed Hogwarts student fantasy that kept me glued to my controller for dozens of hours.”” I agree with Travis on the game. I personally give the game a 92% rating (the glitch brought it down a little).

The beauty
The beauty is seen when I played the game a second time. The first I only got to the place where I can make my own potions (avoiding spoilers). I wanted to see how I did as I replayed it and I did better, but I also learned two additional things. The first was one mission it got handed to me in two DIFFERENT ways. The first time as a Ravenclaw via Olivanders and a different stage of finding things, the second time as a Hufflepuff via a painting that gave me another location and it also came with a short visit to Azkaban, and another location, they ended in the same place and of course that part was the same, but it shows the beauty of Hogwarts Legacy, I can only hope that we get two additional ways to get to this part. The second part is experienced as the gear has a different impact on the player, the second time my offensive skills were a lot higher (with the same gear) than the first time where my defensive skills were a lot higher. I cannot tell at present whether this is intentional, or if there is a random part in play. But the effect is awesome. My Ravenclaw character needs a different approach than my Hufflepuff character does and that makes for a great game. There is no mention of that anywhere. Optionally there is no real blame, but that does not make Steffan Powell any less of a hack. This game is awesome and the mention of “I think, 20 years after the books came out, the world is in a different paradigm now – where it’s not really JK Rowling’s any more. It’s the community’s instead” angered me. The wizarding world is the IP of JK Rowling and Steffan better get a grip on his stupidity. We are guests in the world of JK Rowling. I do not care about her personal views (I never did) and I do not know what exactly her views are because the media alters and edits to its own need for digital dollars. Avalanche used that IP and created a new view that is unique and even as it is linked to JK, there is every chance that this will continue, whether it is only in games is unknown to me at present. I have seen all the hate and all the BS, yet the reality is that this game became a massive hit and will most likely rule the award ceremonies all over the world until march 2024. Avalanche did an amazing job, but the BBC (the people who rehired a person that is seen as allegedly guilty of killing the former princess of Wales) is all about the next political setting via hacks (as I personally see it). This game is too good for that BS approach. There is also a mention of repetitiveness and that is not entirely false, but it tends to be the issue with a lot of RPG games. The previous part shows just how beautiful. This game is and I am playing the game, not racing the game. In 15 hours I got to 20% of quests and 4% of exploration, so this game is huge, no doubt about it and I look forward to seeing a lot more. 

I do not care about Eva Echo and her agenda, I am playing a game by Avalanche. On the other side, I am not really willing to go against her. She has her views, her opinions and I have mine. We are from different worlds, our worlds do not overlap and they do not need to, as such I will not go against her either. That is as simple as I can make it, but any political hack using a great game for his infantile needs get the not so nice side of me and in this so does his editor (Blathnaid Healy). We can point fingers all we like, but someone approved this article. I also have optional issues with Sebastian Croft, not the person perse, but he is mentioned as ‘distancing himself’, perhaps for very valid reasons, my issue is that the article does not clearly bring this out, merely a link to the tweet which had limitations on characters used. But the BBC knew that upfront, did they not? 

What you as a GAMER need to know is that this game is a lot better than most claim, it has a few issues that any RPG will have (even Skyrim) and the art is beyond believe. Yes there are limits to the enemies yet I have seen over half a dozen in the first 10 hours and in real life all enemies are human, as such the game gives us more. Now, there will be valid reasons why people do not like RPG games (they might like GTA more), there are people who do not like the Wizarding world, all fair enough, but lets keep gaming to gaming and not some BS approach to appease political hacks. 

I have seen too much hatred over the last 6 months on this alone to accept the BS settings especially from someone like the BBC. It angered me a lot more than I am happy about. A game as good as this one does not deserve this usage.

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